Everyone in the IT industry knows by now that Cloud Computing is exploding. Gartner said Cloud Computing was its number-one area of inquiry in 2010, and interest in the popular computing movement culminated last summer according to its 2010 Hype Cycle for Cloud Computing.

Regardless of whatever it says in the press, Cloud is now a real option for delivery of IT services to business. Organizations of all sizes need to determine how they can generate real business benefit from using Cloud. Industry discussion about its benefits still tends to be more focused on the Cloud’s IT advantages (e.g. IT capacity and utilization) versus the business impact (e.g. competitive differentiation, profit margin, etc.). The Open Group’s Cloud Work Group has created a series of whitepapers to help clarify the business impacts of using cloud; and as a next step, The Open Group launched a public survey today at The Open Group Conference, San Diego that will examine the measurable business drivers and ROI to be gained from the Cloud. We encourage you to spend a few minutes completing the online survey here.

We’re specifically looking for input from end-user organizations about their business requirements, outcomes and initial experience measuring ROI around their Cloud projects. The survey both builds on the work already done by the Cloud Work Group, and the results of the survey will help guide its future development on the financial and business impact of Cloud Computing.

The survey will be open until Monday, March 7, after which time we’ll publish the findings. Please help us spread the word by sharing the survey link [http://svy.mk/ogcloud] with others in your network who are either direct buyers of Cloud services or have influence over their organization’s Cloud-related investments.